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Snow blankets the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon delays opening of North Rim due to snowfall

Apr 9, 2023 Like other parts of the West, northern Arizona received an abundance of snow over the winter.
Glen Canyon Dam holds back Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River. The lake is currently at 28% of its capacity.

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water

Apr 6, 2023 The $233 million pact with the Gila River Indian Community, announced in Phoenix, was hailed as an example of the kind of cooperation needed to rescue the river.
Flowers in bloom at Picacho Peak State Park, 2019.

Did spring come late this year?

Mar 31, 2023 The Southwest has experienced cooler and wetter conditions.
A set of wine glasses stand on a display table behind a tasting bar at Birds and Barrels Vineyards Rail Road tasting room in Willcox on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. The business started shortly after owner Chad Preston finished his military service.

The Buzz: Arizona's growing wine industry

Mar 24, 2023 State lawmakers celebrate Arizona Wine Month as wine's place in the state's economy grows
A view of the Colorado River near the Silver Bridge on the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. From November 2022.

Supreme Court seems split in Navajo Nation water rights case

Mar 20, 2023 The justices weighed a dispute involving the federal government and the Navajo Nation’s quest for water from the drought-stricken Colorado River.
Pusch Ridge after a March snowstorm.

The Buzz: How snowmelt affects Arizona's water supply

Mar 17, 2023 How much will a wet winter improve drought conditions around the state?
Phillip Yazzie waits for a water drum in the back of his pickup truck to be filled in Teesto, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation, on Feb. 11, 2021.

Feds want justices to end Navajo fight for Colo. River water

Mar 17, 2023 The tribe doesn't have enough water and says that the federal government is at fault.
Flowers in bloom at Picacho Peak State Park, 2019.

Winter moisture expected to yield big wildflower bloom in Arizona

Mar 14, 2023 Experts say conditions lined up to produce massive floral displays in lower elevations.
Tom Buschatzke (front) signs a water conservation deal with other Colorado River water managers, Dec. 15, 2021. "I thought we had very robust conversations with the California representatives," he said of the January 2023 negotiations.

Was California consulted in recent Colorado River negotiations?

Mar 11, 2023 Leaders in other states disagree with that characterization.
Water in the Colorado River system fills Flaming Gorge Reservoir on June 26, 2021.

Feds pause some Flaming Gorge water releases amid a snowy winter for the Colorado River

Mar 9, 2023 After states in the Colorado River's Upper Basin filed a request with the Bureau of Reclamation.
Telescopes atop Kitt Peak during the summer.

Winter snow slows space exploration in southern Arizona

Mar 6, 2023 Mountaintop astronomers are sometimes stranded by heavy snow at telescope sites.
The Green River flows beneath the Flaming Gorge Dam in Utah.

Proposed pause on reservoir releases prompts Arizona and Lower Basin states to respond

Mar 2, 2023 Those states essentially agreed with the idea of suspending water releases, but said water managers should wait a few months.
A skier cruises down Snowmass ski area, where January brought heavy snow to the mountains that supply the majority of the Colorado River's water. Scientists say this could provide a temporary boost to shrinking reservoirs.

The Rockies are having a snowy winter, but not all of that water will make it to the Colorado River

Feb 13, 2023 A snowy January is not enough to overcome conditions caused by years of below-average moisture in the region.
Low water levels at Wahweap Bay at Lake Powell along the Upper Colorado River Basin are shown, on June 9, 2021, at the Utah and Arizona border at Wahweap, Ariz.

Interior: $580M headed to 15 tribes to fulfill water rights

Feb 2, 2023 The money will help carry out the agreements that define the tribes' rights to water from rivers and other sources and pay for pipelines, pumping stations, and canals that deliver it to reservations.
The seven states in the Colorado River basin couldn't agree on a plan to conserve unprecedented amounts of water before a federal deadline. Meanwhile, grim projections for the future of water levels in Lake Mead have forced mandatory cuts to water for some users in the lower basin. Federal authorities are trying to prop up levels in the nation's largest reservoir before they dip too low to generate hydropower or allow the passage of water.

California holdout in agreement over Colorado River cuts

Jan 30, 2023 Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut their use.
After two decades of drought, parts of Lake Mead that were once underwater have been exposed as the lake falls to historically low levels.

Recent snowfalls may slow water level decline at Lake Mead

Jan 30, 2023 Forecasters now expect Lake Mead to finish this year around 1,027 feet elevation, about 19 feet lower than its current level.

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